Jury Decides Led Zeppelin Did Not Steal Totally Rad ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Riff

By Shane Barnes

June 23, 2016

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It wasn’t the first time Led Zeppelin had been taken to court over accusations of copyright infringement, but it’s maybe the first time they’ve won: a Los Angeles jury decided today that the British cock rock gods did not rip the totally rad riffage from the opening of “Stairway to Heaven” from the song “Taurus” by the band Spirit.

The lawsuit was filed in 2014 by Michael Skidmore, who was representing the estate of Randy California, the former Spirit guitarist. Led Zeppelin has long been accused of copping early blues artists in the past, but this was the highest profile and most serious legal accusation yet, and it could’ve been a major blow to recording artists if they’d lost.

They’re also not the only band currently fighting off a copyright case. Ed Sheeran, 50 Cent, and Dr. Dre are, too. Here’s our breakdown of that whole situation.